Local Government minister Saviour Kasukuwere yesterday suspended all 18 Gweru councillors including the mayor Hamutendi Kombayi, on grounds of abuse of office.
BY XOLISANI NCUBE / stephen chadenga
The suspensions that followed an investigation by an audit team appointed by the ministry claimed the scalps of three Zanu PF councillors. Gweru City Council is dominated by MDC-T.
According to letters seen by Southern Eye, the councillors are also being accused of gross misconduct and incompetence.
“Pursuant to the investigations carried out at Gweru City Council which revealed your involvement in gross mismanagement, gross misconduct and incompetence in connection with council funds and affairs, I hereby in terms of Section 114 (1) (c), (d) and (i) (ii) of the Urban Councils Act (Chapter 29:15) suspend you from being a councillor of Gweru City Council with immediate effect,” part of the suspension letters dated August 12 read.
“During the period of your suspension, you shall not conduct any council business within or outside council premises, and you shall not be eligible to receive any form of remuneration from the council,” the letters added.
The councillors received the suspension letters yesterday afternoon after Kasukuwere made the announcement in Harare in the morning.
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Kasukuwere told journalists that Kombayi and his councillors abused council funds and this was exposed by an audit.
He said the government would soon be appointing a caretaker team to run the local authority’s affairs while a tribunal was being established to investigate the 18 councillors.
“Gweru City Council was is in a sorry state, we can’t as government allow that to continue . . . we are sending a team to investigate and those guilty will be dealt with,” he said.
“It’s not only Gweru, but we have Murehwa as well where we have suspended some councillors. We will deal with those who fail to do their duties.”
Kombayi and ward 2 councillor Tiripai Chipondeni (Zanu PF) confirmed receiving the suspension letters.
However, MDC-T Midlands South provincial spokesperson Munyaradzi Mutandavari described the suspensions as an attack on the opposition party by Zanu PF. Kasukuwere is Zanu PF’s political commissar.
Matandavari said the suspended Zanu PF councillors were caught in the crossfire as the main target was MDC-T.
“These are the last kicks of a dying horse as the minister was once quoted saying he wants to target MDC-T-run councils,” he said.
In May, former Local Government minister Ignatius Chombo suspended three Gweru councillors for allegedly abusing council funds and set up a team to investigate them. Kasukuwere recently fired two of the councillors — Albert Chirau (Ward 11) and Moses Marecha (Ward 5) — and exonerated one of the suspended councillors.
